What it’s all about
Every federally recognized tribe has a right to establish a reservation and to pursue a casino project. But the Cowlitz Tribe has pursued its proposed casino-resort in Clark County, Wash.,
disingenuously, spreading untruths about its plans, skewing application processes and locking local governments out of the consultation process.
Even before the tribe received federal recognition in 2002, David Barnett, son of tribal chairman John Barnett, began acquiring property just west of Interstate 5 at Exit 16. He said he would keep the land in agriculture … or maybe build a cultural center … or maybe put in a little casino. None of these was true.
Snookering Clark County
Representatives of the tribe—which has been based since time immemorial in northern Cowlitz and Lewis counties—snookered Clark County, which did not know the tribe’s plan, into signing a one-sided agreement. Now invalid, the document guaranteed the tribe services at the site but offered only small benefits to the local area—not enough to make up for the social and economic havoc its plans would wreak.
The tribe then applied to effectively cut local governments out of the process. And David Barnett partnered with the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut, owner of the second-largest casino in the nation, and—surprise!—the project ballooned into a Las Vegas-style casino-resort that would cover a land area of approximately 20 football fields in rural Clark County. The site, so near the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area, would be a gold mine for its developers. From downtown Portland, the next-closest casino is an hour and a half drive away.
Fighting Back
But this gold mine would cause unprecedented problems for the surrounding area—impacting traffic, housing, schools, businesses and social services.
That’s why local citizens are fighting back. The cities of Vancouver and La Center have published resolutions of opposition, and other groups have taken positions against the casino. Many citizens have written to the Department of the Interior and our legislative representatives.
CARS offers factual information for citizens who want to know what is happening and to make their voices heard. We invite you to learn about this important issue and see how you can help.
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